21st Rule facts for kids

Throughout the time before the American Civil War, many people sent requests and messages about slavery to the United States Congress. Between 1836 and 1844, the 21st rule of the U.S. House of Representatives was put in place. This rule was also called the gag rule. It meant that no request about slavery would be discussed in any way. Because of this, all such requests received during this time were simply put aside, or "tabled."

The rule was suggested by South Carolina Representative Henry L. Pinckney. It was passed without any discussion. During this time, hundreds of requests were put aside. These requests were about ending slavery, slavery in Washington, D.C., laws about runaway slaves, letting new slave states join, slavery in different territories, sending freed slaves to Africa, and even asking to get rid of the 21st rule itself.

What Was the Gag Rule?

In the 1830s, groups like the American Anti-Slavery Society wanted Congress to start working on ending slavery. People who wanted to end slavery, called abolitionists, organized across the country. Between 1831 and 1844, they sent over 130,000 requests to the House of Representatives.

James Henry Hammond, a representative from South Carolina, first suggested stopping all anti-slavery requests. James K. Polk, who later became president and was then a representative from Tennessee, tried to handle this issue. He put it in the hands of a special committee. The head of this committee, Henry Pinckney, decided not to consider any of these requests. He made it so that anything about slavery was automatically put aside.

In 1836, the 24th Congress officially adopted the Gag Rule. This rule stated that all requests about slavery had to be approved before being discussed. If not, they would "be laid on the table" and no further action would be taken on them.

Fighting Against the Rule

Many people did not agree with this rule. The Whig Party was against it. John Quincy Adams, a former president and now a congressman, led a group of lawmakers who wanted to get rid of the rule. Adams told everyone that he was not an abolitionist himself. However, he believed this rule went against the constitutional right to ask the government for help.

The Gag Rule was seen as going against the First Amendment. This amendment gives everyone freedom of speech. It also gives people the right to ask the government to fix problems.

John Quincy Adams's Efforts

Adams wanted to pass a change to the rules to fight the Gag Rule. When the Whigs gained more control in the House, some lawmakers from Kentucky suggested keeping the old House rules. This included the 21st rule. Adams did not like this idea. He proposed a completely new change to get rid of the 21st Rule. It passed by a small number of votes, 112 to 104.

People who opposed Adams tried to remove him from the House. They also tried to take away his position as head of a Congressional Committee. The first time Congress tried to do this, they failed. His opponents tried again, but the result was the same.

The Rule Is Removed

Adams kept questioning Polk, saying that the requests used to create the Gag Rule might not have been proper. When Polk did not answer, Adams said that everyone has freedom of thought and action. He argued that if someone wanted to question slavery, it was protected by law.

In January 1844, Adams and his committee finally got rid of the Gag Rule. The House was not happy with this decision and had a long discussion about it. Many still supported the Gag Rule and wanted to vote on bringing it back. The vote ended up being 86 for bringing it back and 116 against.

The House was still not satisfied. They wanted to hold another vote to see if people wanted to rethink the first vote on bringing the Gag Rule back. This idea also failed, with 56 for and 116 against. Finally, on December 3, 1844, Congress agreed to officially cancel the Gag Rule. Adams's long fight had worked.

See also

• Presidency of Andrew Jackson